


Press Restart

by LadyC



Series: After the End [1]
Category: Captain America (Movies), The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Avengers: Endgame (Movie) Spoilers, Avengers: Endgame Fix-It, Canon Compliant (kind of), F/M, M/M, Post-Avengers: Endgame (Movie), Pre-Slash, Prologue
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-30
Updated: 2019-04-30
Packaged: 2020-02-10 03:58:12
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,355
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18652450
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LadyC/pseuds/LadyC
Summary: Prologue to the upcoming AFTER THE END series. After the final battle with Thanos, Tony wakes up in his own bed, surrounded by Avengers, and has to sort out what was real and what was a near-death fantasy. Meanwhile, Steve struggles to come to terms with all that's happened and all that could have been.





	Press Restart

**Author's Note:**

> Title from a Walk the Moon song. 
> 
> "Maybe it’s not an ending, maybe it’s a beginning…"

When Tony opens his eyes, he finds himself staring up at a bizarre tableau - Steve, Thor, Bruce, Clint, and Natasha staring down at him with concern.

“Okay, seriously, what’s with the posing? Do you guys practice or…”

Tony is cut off by Pepper breaking through the crowd and kneeling down on the side of the bed to kiss him. He notices that she’s careful with the right side of his face. His bedroom has been carefully cleared of any reflective surfaces, but if the shape of his right arm is anything to go by, it’s probably for the best that he can’t see his face right now. Luckily, whatever painkillers they have him on are ensuring that all Tony feels on his right side is a vaguely ticklish sensation.

Tony kisses Pepper again, then shifts to look at the Avengers assembled around his hospital bed. “So is this heaven, or what? Cause I have some pretty mixed feelings on who they’re letting in these days.”

Pepper shakes her head. “You’re not dead, Tony. Come on, you’ve survived worse than that.”

Bruce nods enthusiastically. “Yeah. Like falling from space after a nuclear explosion.”

“Or metal shrapnel in your heart.”

“Or nearly asphyxiating in space.”

“Or being stabbed in the gut by Thanos.”

“Or…” 

Tony laughs and it only sounds partly like a wheeze. “Okay, I get it. But, how are you all here? You’re supposed to be in space, Thor. And why are you in the present, Cap?” 

Everyone looks around at each other, then back at Tony. Thor is the first to brave a reply. “Space?”

“Yeah. To go find yourself after realizing a kingdom was never what you really wanted.”

Thor cocks his head. “Friend Stark, I may not have acted in a manner consistent with being a king these last few years, but it is, in fact, all I have ever wanted.”

“Are you sure? Getting away from all that responsibility and bureaucracy pretty much saved my life.”

“Aye. And I am as happy for you as my still-grieving heart allows me to be. That is, alas, not my path.”

Tony frowns. “But I thought you were happy. I thought all of you were! I saw it, when I was dying…”

“Right, Tony,” Pepper says gently. “You were dying. It would make sense if you saw things that would be you do so peacefully.”

“I guess that explains how I could see my own funeral. And how everyone was so nicely lined up in order of their relative importance to me!”

Pepper nods and pats his hand.

Tony looks around the room again and his eye fix on Natasha. “But wait, how is she here? Is this still a part of the fantasy?”

Natasha quirks a smile. “I’m real, Tony.”

“That’s what you’d say in the fantasy.”

“No, she’s definitely real.” Steve clears his throat, trying to fight down a flush. “I may have… bent the rules a little when I returned the Soul Stone, grabbed Nat right before she died, and brought her back to the present with me.”

“But that would’ve created like three different spin-off universes, at least one of which might still be hopelessly entangled in a paradox!”

“Right…”

“You wanna veto his decision, Stark?” Natasha narrows her eyes at him.

“Nope, all good. But what I don’t get is, why’d you came back here after, Cap? I really thought I had your happy ending all worked out. I’d built a time machine, told you to get a life… You could have just gone back and gotten that dance you were always on about and rejoined the greatest generation as a family man.”

Steve’s brow wrinkles in confusion. “With… Peggy, you mean?” 

“Sure.”

Steve tries to look less pained than he feels. “I couldn’t do that, Tony. Even if the past really was as great as certain politicians would like you to believe, Peggy had a life. A family. I could never take that away from her.”

“Huh.”

Natasha shakes her head. “And, come on, Tony. Did you really think Steve wouldn’t have come back for…”

“The hard work of cleaning up after the battle?” Tony wheeze-laughs again. “Nah, in my right mind, I know Cap too well for that.”

Nat exchanges a look with Pepper and both fight down amused smiles.

“And Barton? Why aren’t you with your family?”

“I spent five years as an unfeeling killing machine, Tony. I figured it’d be best for my family if I took some time away to find my center again.”

“Well. Fair enough, I guess. Ant-guy’s happy with his family in San Francisco at least, right?”

“Hey, look, you got one out of five.”

“Yeah, yeah, yuk it up, Banner. I didn’t even bother to give you any type of closure, I’ll have you know.” 

Before Bruce can respond, FRIDAY’s voice rings out to inform them that the Wakandan delegation is about to depart. As the others prepare to head out and say their farewells, Tony fights down something that is definitely neither sadness or panic and asks, “Is, um, everyone heading out?"  

“Sorry, buddy,” begins Bruce, and Tony is halfway through putting on his _I don’t care about any of you anyway_ face when he continues, “you’re stuck with us for now. The compound’s destroyed and, with all the hotels full up from everyone being back all of a sudden, there aren’t too many places to go. Pepper offered for us to stay with you guys until everything settles down. Hope it’s not too much trouble.” 

“It’s a ton of trouble. But, you know, all I did was save the universe. Again. Why should I have any privacy in return?”

Pepper shakes her head. “Okay, I think you should all go say goodbye now. I think someone’s getting cranky and needs a nap.”

“Is that someone Morgan? It’s definitely Morgan. Right?”

 

* * *

 

After saying his own goodbyes, Steve stands back and watches as T’Challa helps Wanda carry Vision’s body onto one of the aircrafts. He hopes, for her sake, that they are able to work some of the same magic they had with Bucky.  

Speaking of… Steve seeks him out in the crowd and is surprised to see Bucky hugging her goodbye. Steve smiles at the progress his friend has made - it seems like Bucky had come even further than Steve had thought the last time they’d met up in Wakanda. That would have been last week for Bucky. Five years ago for Steve. It makes Steve’s head spin.   

Bucky walks over to him and they stand side by side as the Daggers seal up and take off in straight, vertical lines.

“They destroyed the quantum whatchamacallit – the time machine – before they went. And, with Pepper’s permission, erased all records that might let someone build another one. Too tempting.” 

Steve nods stiffly. “It was the right call.”

Bucky glances over at him. “You sure about that, buddy? Stark was babbling like a lunatic, but he wasn’t wrong. You could’ve stayed.”

“But…”

“I know, I know. Time travel logic. Moral righteousness. Etcetera. But still. You deserve to be happy.”

Steve shrugs with practiced nonchalance. “I’ll figure it out. We all will.” He shifts and looks at the ground as he says, “I thought you might have wanted to go back to Wakanda. You seemed happy there.”

“I think the goats are gonna be alright without me. My best friend, on the other hand, has this unfortunate tendency to try to get himself killed whenever I turn my back.”

Steve snorts a laugh. “I think I’m over that particular phase.”

“Yeah? Well, I’m gonna stick around, just to make sure. As long as you’ll have me, that is.”

“Always.”

He says it with too much sincerity and winces, but Bucky just slings an arm around Steve’s shoulders. It’s different, now – there’s still some part of Steve that’s surprised that he has to reach up to do so – but they make it work. And there’s enough familiarity to bring a smile to his face when Bucky leans close to his ear and assures him, “It ain’t the end of the line yet, pal.”

**Author's Note:**

> I'm imagining a series of interconnected one shots, mainly stucky but digging into some other characters, as well. Some ideas below: 
> 
> \- Bucky and Sam try to set Steve up on a date, but he begs off until Bucky offers to teach him how to dance  
> \- Tony and Pepper struggle to put up with increasingly presumptuous houseguests, especially when they start trying to pitch in with their own unique styles of co-parenting Morgan  
> \- Steve meets up with his support group, who are struggling to cope with the reality of their friends, family, and lovers having returned  
> \- Thor finally brings himself to ask for help  
> \- Nat and Clint try to hash out their issues once and for all


End file.
